Topics

And when Jonathan Toews skates into the MTS Centre for the first time — either next season or the one after that — the proud Winnipegger is hoping the familiar moniker remains the same.

“I hope it’s Jets,” said Toews, the Chicago Blackhawks captain. “I’m not afraid to say it, why not? Who knows what will happen, but I grew up watching the Winnipeg Jets and loving NHL hockey and that’s what it always should be.”

Toews was back in Winnipeg for several public appearances, including one Thursday at Pine Ridge Golf Club, site of the Canadian Tour golf tournament bearing his name: The Players Cup hosted by Jonathan Toews.

The Olympic gold medallist didn’t make his way down to Portage and Main or to The Forks for any of the festivities but that didn’t mean he wasn’t celebrating the news.

“It’s exciting,” said Toews. “I’m getting a lot of questions about it, but I’m pumped too. I honestly didn’t think there was going to be a team in Winnipeg during my career. It’s awesome for Mark Chipman to seize this opportunity with a team that was ready to sell. It goes beyond hockey being in Winnipeg and being in a Canadian city. As a Winnipegger, you can tell it’s giving our identity back and giving us something to be proud of.

“It will be a great place for any team coming in here and it’ll definitely be an exciting thing to see. I can’t imagine how crazy those crowds are going to be the first couple nights at the MTS Centre next year.”

It was less than a year ago that Toews and the Blackhawks captured the Stanley Cup and he saw what it meant to the city and province to share the famous trophy with them.

He saw a similar outpouring of enthusiasm and emotion on Tuesday when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was on hand to announce that Winnipeg had purchased the Atlanta Thrashers.

“It means a great deal,” said Toews. “It’s special to have fans cheer you on the whole way. To come back to Winnipeg and see the support I got with the Stanley Cup. If we win it again, we might not get as much the next time around because everyone is cheering for their own team now. But we’ll see. I think they’ll have a good team here in Winnipeg and hopefully they can be competitive for the next little while.”

One of Toews’ teammates with the Blackhawks was forward Andrew Ladd, who served as team captain of the Thrashers last season and is seen as a cornerstone the Winnipeg franchise will build around.

‘Sad to see Ladd go’

“I was really sad to see him go,” said Toews. “He’s a character guy and you saw the way he played this year. He’s the captain of their team and he’s a true pro, with how he plays the game and the way he prepares off the ice. This team will be lucky to have him for a long time.”

With the Blackhawks exiting in the first round after a riveting seven-game series with the Vancouver Canucks, Toews is feeling anxious to get back onto the ice — considering he was still playing at this time last year.

“It feels weird. I’ve been off the ice for over a month now and it feels like training camp should be only a few weeks away,” said Toews. “We’ve had a lot of time to prepare for next year.”